Pyrocoma
by Aliceoflegend
Summary: A fire in the Police Station leaves a pregnant Audrey in a coma. All seems lost when new evidence points towards the supernatural - and Troubled - it's a race against the clock for Nathan to track down the culprit and save Audrey.
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own any of the characters of places in Haven_

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><p>Nathan heard the doorbell tinkle as he stepped into the diner and stamped his feet on the mat to get the snow off, shaking it out of his hair as he strode up to the counter.<p>

"Hey, Nathan," Martha greeted him with a wide smile "Pancakes?" Nathan smiled slightly in response.

"No, I'll take a blueberry pie and some chocolate cupcakes please." He said as he drew the money out of his wallet.

"A _whole_ blueberry pie?" Martha repeated disbelievingly. Nathan smiled wider.

"For Audrey," he explained "she's been having cravings all week – on Monday it was Watermelons, Tuesday was saltwater and pickles and now it's Blueberry pie and syrup." He rolled his eyes, putting the money on the counter. Martha smiled at him and went off to fetch the pie – she came back with a large plate wrapped in tin foil. Nathan thanked her and was approaching the door just as it opened. A tall figure stepped in, blocking Nathan's way out. He was just about to complain when he saw who it was. Ever since Audrey had announced her pregnancy, Duke had been different to Nathan, kinder, and, quite frankly, it was unnerving.

"Hey, Tin-Man!" he grinned now, grasping his free hand and shaking it so vigorously Nathan almost dropped his little tower of Pie and cupcakes "How's Audrey? Heard she's getting big."

"Where did you hear that?" Nathan settled his face into an emotionless mask, the one he used when dealing with hostile criminals.

"Ah, you know – on the Grape Vine." He just shrugged and carried on smiling. Nathan nodded with narrowed eyes.

"Ok – if you don't mind. . ." Nathan motioned for Duke to move aside. Surprisingly, he slid to the side without a word. Nathan walked quickly past, not looking back as he jumped into the truck, gently placing the food on the passenger seat, and drove off.

Audrey heard the door slam shut and sat up, looking around.

"Nathan!" she called, still not seeing him "Nathan, is that you? Do you have my Pie?" Nathan rounded the corner and saw her sprawled on the couch, her eight-month-pregnant stomach rising from under a semi-smart dark blue maternity blouse. Since she had gotten visibly pregnant, she had been put on desk duty and she was sick of it. Nathan held the pie up and she squealed happily, setting aside the tin of Golden Syrup she had been eating.

"How d'you feel?" he asked, kneeling down and rubbing her stomach lovingly. She had pulled up her shirt, exposing her bare, stretch-marked skin. Nathan stroked the soft, tight skin, feeling, just feeling.

"Awful," she complained "my back's been aching from sitting down all day and I've been bored stiff." Nathan moved his hands upwards, breaking contact with her smooth skin as little as possible, so that he was cupping her face, his lips inches from hers.

"I'll see if I can make it better," Nathan crooned, staring deep into her blue eyes, and kissed her. She responded instinctively to his touch, the kiss deepening until they both broke away, breathless. Nathan looked into her eyes again and saw that characteristic glint that could only mean one thing: Audrey wasn't craving Blueberry Pie anymore.


	2. Chapter 2: Bored to Worse

It was a mostly quiet day in the Station – both Audrey and Nathan caught up on paperwork. Nathan could sense Audrey's annoyance by the amount of times she stopped writing to rub her stomach, massage her hand or twist her wedding and engagement rings around her finger.

"Nate, sugar," a voice finally came through from the intercom "there's a fight by the moors – Chief wants you to sort it out."

"I'm there," Nathan replied, standing up and slipping his jacket on.

"Urgh," Audrey groaned and slammed her pen onto the desk, leaning back angrily.

"No, you cannot come," he said before she even opened her mouth again.

"I know, I know," she snapped "you don't need to tell me what I can and can't do." She pouted angrily. Nathan smiled and kissed her on the forehead, knowing it was useless to try and bring her round while she was still annoyed.

"See you soon," he whispered "Love you." Audrey just looked away and pouted, leaving Nathan to depart with a chuckle.

The fight hadn't been that bad – just two teenagers fighting over a girl. The threat of spending the night in a jail cell took them down a few notches. It barely lasted half an hour. Nathan was driving back to the Station when he felt something was wrong. It was when he rounded the corner that he saw the smoke rising in sickly billows from the corner where the Station was.

"Oh, God," Nathan choked out before he pulled up behind the fire engines and burst out the truck. Firemen were everywhere, spraying jets of silver water onto the crackling flames, trying desperately to put the flames out.

"Audrey!" Nathan called, straining to see the top of a blonde head, the flash of blue eyes, someone walking with a waddle. Anything "AUDREY!"

"Nathan!" the voice barely made it over the clamour of the firemen. Nathan spun round, aware somewhere in the back of his mind that the voice was too deep to be Audrey's, but still hoping, despite logic.

"Audrey?" the words were barely out of his mouth when he saw a dark head approaching. Duke seemed to be everywhere Nathan was that day, but Nathan was too worried to care "Duke! Where's Audrey?" Nathan saw his expression and paled "She's not," he gasped, his chest suddenly tightening "oh, God, Duke, tell me she's not –"

"No, no," he interrupted "she's alive, but –"

"Where is she?" Nathan gripped Duke's arms tightly – if anything had happened to her – or the baby! The smoke, what would the smoke have done to the baby? They were both so fragile, so delicate.

"She's been taken to hospital," Duke said in a would-be calming voice "but, Nathan, I've got to warn you, she's pretty bad."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Duke led Nathan away from the centre of activity and into a quieter area.

"There was an accidental fire – we don't know what from yet – and Audrey was caught in the middle of it. The firemen got her out a few minutes ago and got her straight in an ambulance and away."

Nathan didn't even hear the last bit. He was already running towards the truck, barely aware of Duke right next to him. He had the engine started before the door was even closed.


	3. Chapter 3: Sirens

The hospital was crowded, bustling with nurses and doctors alike. Nathan grabbed one on the nurses by the arm.

"Could you tell me where Audrey Wuornos' room is? I'm her husband, Nathan Wuornos." The nurse gave him a sympathetic look before nodding.

"Sure, sweetheart, right this way – is this man coming with you?" she nodded towards Duke.

"I'm a friend of the family," he said before Nathan could reply, and Nathan shot him a dark look "well, a friend of the wife anyway." Duke uncomfortably corrected. The nurse, cleverly, ignored the comment and led them to Audrey's room. Nathan's gut twisted when he read the words _Intensive Care_.

"Dr. Sharpe is in there at the moment," she said, pausing at the door "ask him your questions – he'll be working specifically on this case until your wife is well again." She opened the door and introduced Nathan and Duke to Dr. Sharpe. He was a middle-aged man, still clinging onto some natural hair colour, but not much. But Nathan's eyes were not for the doctor – they clung to the blonde, swollen-bellied figure lying, eyes-closed, on the bed. He rushed over to her, taking her hand in both of his. Her skin was cold. There were cuts and burns all up her arms, and there was a large gash just under her hairline that would scar.

"Is she sleeping?" a heart monitor beeped steadily in the background "She's just asleep, right?" the doctor looked uncomfortable.

"I'm afraid, Mr. Wuornos, that your wife is in a coma. Now, at the moment we don't have cause to worry – as far as we can tell, the baby is fine and there should be very little risk of miscarriage – but if she doesn't wake up in the next forty-eight hours there's nothing we can do. I'm sorry." He patted Nathan on the back uncomfortably. He didn't even look up – suddenly his world was ripped apart. What if she didn't wake up?

"What about the baby?" Nathan whispered, stroking Audrey's face tenderly. She didn't move; not even her eyelids flickered.

"If Audrey awakens, everything will go ahead like usual – if not, then she'll have to have a C-section. The baby is big enough to survive on its own now, though it'll be in Intensive Care for awhile. Then it'll be up to you whether you keep her on life support or not." The Doctor patted Nathan on his shoulder again and departed, leaving Nathan and Duke alone with Audrey. Duke sat on the other side, staring at Audrey. He was pale, his dark eyes wide and staring.

"Nathan," he finally said, seeming to realise that Nathan needed comforting more than he did "she's strong – hell, she told me off the other day for _walking too fast_. There's no way she'll let something like this bring her down. I'm gunna go find the others; they'll want to see her." Only after Duke had left did Nathan finally let himself cry.

"Audrey," he whispered "Audrey, can you hear me? Remember what I said to you before I left? Do you remember? I love you, Audrey, and our baby. I love both of you." He continued to whisper and whimper to her until the visitors started to arrive. Too many visitors to keep track of, the 'I'm so sorry's and 'don't worry, she'll make it's all blurred into one. Nathan never looked up from Audrey's deadly still form. Never stopped gripping her hand, saying her name. She looked so peaceful, swathed in pillows and blankets, it was almost easy to think she _was_ asleep. Unfortunately, Nathan knew better.


	4. Chapter 4: Hope

"Nathan, you've gotta go home," Duke almost yelled for the third time "go home, relax, think! Jeez, get a freaking shower! Let's face it, Audrey's not going anywhere." Nathan just stared at her. She hadn't moved in the three hours he had been there. There had been some people from the town that had stayed to try and comfort him, but in the end the silence was too uncomfortable – they couldn't bear to look at his broken face – and each, in their turn, left with mumbled excuses. Nathan didn't even blink an eye.

"Go back to the Station," the Chief said more empathetically, knowing his son needed something to _do_, not somewhere to go "I know the firemen need help cleaning the ashes away and sorting everything out. We'll stay and look after Audrey – you go. We'll call you if anything changes." Nathan didn't have the energy to be angry of grumpy at the Chief – he just stood up and left. Everyone in the hall seemed to avoid him – even the people he had never seen before kept a safe distance.

Nathan couldn't remember leaving the hospital, or getting in his car, or even driving to the Station – all he knew was that he was suddenly standing outside the smoky remains of his workplace. It didn't look that bad from the outside, but Nathan could see firemen carrying blackened files and debris from the ruined doors.

"Evening," greeted a fireman close to Nathan. Nathan nodded in reply.

"You're that bloke, aren't you?" the fireman continued "The husband of that pretty blonde woman? The pregnant one?"

"Yeah," grunted Nathan.

"I'm Bill – I pulled her out the building when it was still alight." That caught Nathan's attention "Can you tell me if she's alright?"

"She's in a coma – if she doesn't wake up in two days, she won't ever." Nathan replied emotionlessly.

"Oh, damn." He gasped "That's bad – I'm sorry for you, man." Nathan nodded again and watched the firemen pull his burned desk from the building.

"Strange," Bill began, staring at the papers before him "we looked for any signs of arson or accidental fire, but there was nothing. It was like the building spontaneously combusted or something. And another thing," he pointed to a box of scribble on a sheet of paper – now Nathan was _really_ interested "the fire seemed to start and pretty much stay in your and your wife's office – hardly anywhere else was even touched by the fire, yet your office is so burned it looks like it's made of coal." Bill crewed up his eyebrows and shook his head. But Nathan was staring. Suddenly, he stood up and ran into the Station – Bill wasn't lying. Most of the office spaces were untouched, if a bit smoke-damaged, and could be cleaned up and fixed in no time. His and Audrey's office, however, was barely recognisable; everything was broken into ashes and burnt wood on the floor. A few firemen were milling about, picking up the shattered remains of unrecognisable objects. Nathan stepped into the office and his eyes caught on a pale flash, half-buried in ashes. He walked toward sit and picked it up – it was a photo of him and Audrey on their wedding day, their faces smooshed together, both of them grinning like idiots. Audrey's hair had fallen out of it's pretty up-do half-way through the ceremony and had spent the rest of the day brushing it out of her eyes. It had miraculously managed to escape the flames with nothing but a few singed edges to show for it.

This was no accidental fire.

This was supernatural, and this was personal.

This was killing Audrey, her time running out.

This was Trouble.


	5. Chapter 5: Meet the Family

"Mrs. West," Nathan greeted, not waiting to be invited inside before stepping over the threshold "Haven P.D – I need to talk to you about your son, Matt West."

"Wha – my son?" the middle-aged woman spluttered "My son has been dead for three years – you told me yourself, remember? You came round with that woman and told me that my baby boy had burned to death." Her voice had already gone thick with anger and grief.

"None the less, there was a mysterious fire at the police station last night, in which many people were hurt," _and the most important one is dying_ "and I want to know why and if there is anything I can do to stop it happening again." Nathan shot back.

"What does a random fire have to do with Matt? Can't you just let him rest in peace?" she snapped.

"Matt was a convicted arsonist. No one else in Haven would have motive to burn the Police Station,"

"Yeah, except every other criminal you've ever put away!" she cried "_And_ they're all alive!"

"Mrs. West, your son was not what he seemed," said Nathan in a low voice "You've heard of the Troubles?"

"What, those freaks that destroyed the church tower? What about them?" Nathan led Mrs. West to the living room and sat her down on the sofa.

"Your son was Troubled – he had the ability to control fire with his emotions. Well, I suppose _control_ is a bit strong, but. . ."

"Wait, no, that couldn't be right," Mrs. West laughed shakily "if he was Troubled, when why wouldn't we know?"

"Mrs. West, Matt had problems – he was bullied and picked on at school and outside of school he was always getting into fights. Is it really so hard to believe that Matt was keeping secrets from you?"

Before Mrs. West could reply, a girl thundered down the stairs moodily. Nathan could tell she was a relative; her dirty blonde hair was in the same tight curls as Matt's had been, and she had the same round face as Mrs. West.

"Mum?" she said with a scowl "Who is this? What's he doing here?" she narrowed her eyes at Nathan. He stood.

"He," Mrs. West said, her voice quavering with threat "is leaving." She stood up. Nathan inclined his head and let himself out.

Well, that was pointless – Nathan had learned nothing other than Matt's mother still believed him to be dead and she was avoiding giving him proper answers. He clambered into the truck, very aware that time was ticking away, from him and for Audrey.

"Nathan," a call came through the radio "there's been another fire, and it's pretty bad."

"Where?" Nathan's sirens were already on and he was roaring down the empty road.

"Haven High." Nathan nodded his head silently and urged his old truck faster. Looks like he was on the right track.


	6. Chapter 6: The Sister

The Fire was devastating. Most of the school was collapsed inwards on itself, but the trees a few yards from the building barely had singed leaves.

"Odd," a fireman commented of Nathan we he got there "all this happened in less than five minutes – I've never seen anything like it! Amazing. . ."

"I have," grunted Nathan to himself, striding away.

"Nathan!" a deep voice boomed across what was left of the High School campus.

"Not now, Duke." Nathan growled back when duke reached him, puffing and panting like he'd just sprinted a marathon.

"You're gunna wanna hear this, Nathan." He warned.

"I said not now!" Nathan yelled, walking away.

"It's about Audrey." Nathan stopped. _Damn – he know how to get my attention_, he thought sourly. He turned.

"Is she ok?" he called back urgently. Duke shrugged.

"She's the same – her vitals are steadily declining, but we still have time. But that's not the thing. She's been muttering."

"So she's not in a coma anymore?" Nathan asked hopefully. It was a good sign, a very, very good sign!

"No, the Doctors say she's still in a coma, and all the equipment says she's pretty much brain-dead, but she's still muttering. Keeps saying things like 'blonde hair' and 'hereditary' and 'need help'."

"What? That doesn't make sense." Nathan stepped forwards.

"I tried telling her that, but she, urm, she didn't _listen_." He shot back mockingly. Nathan clenched his fist – now was not the time.

"Fine, but why couldn't you have called me?" Nathan snapped angrily.

"Your phone isn't on, Tin Man." Duke said in a duh-you're-an-idiot kind of way. Nathan clenched his fists tighter. But Nathan didn't know what to reply, so he just strode off to where three teenagers were huddled in foil blankets, their faces darkened with smoke with pale streaks down their cheeks where tears had washed the dirt away.

"Hello, I'm Officer Nathan Wuornos from Haven P.D – could I ask you some questions?" Nathan introduced briskly to the kids. They looked at one another before nodding slowly. Nathan sat down on the back of the ambulance that was facing them.

"Am I right I hearing you were witnesses to the fire?" all three nodded mutely "Can you tell me if you saw anything unusual before or after the fire started? Even the silliest of things, I need to hear them." Silence. Then a pretty blonde girl with a burn on her forehead spoke.

"I was in the art room when the fire started. The art room is a separate building to the main school, but everything seemed to catch alight at the same time." She paused before looking Nathan straight in the eye "I don't think it was an accident. I think it was deliberate."

"Did you see anyone acting suspicious around the time of the fire?" Nathan questioned.

"Nope – but I was concentrating on my work." She said, then started tearing up, apparently over the loss of her art. Nathan fought off rolling his eyes.

"Actually, I saw someone run out of the building just before the fire started," a tiny Indian girl said shyly. Half of her hair had been burnt off and the smell of burning hair still surrounded her; even from where Nathan sat he could smell it.

"What did this person look like?" he asked quickly. The girl scrunched up her nose distastefully.

"Tall – a boy – with dark hair and wearing a green shirt and plain jeans. I couldn't see his face, but I'd bet my house that it was Jason Barnes."

"Jason Barnes, who's Jason Barnes?" Nathan pressed. The boy, who had stayed silent until then, snorted.

"A freak." He said rudely "He hangs out with animals more than humans – total tree-hugger. He stood outside school with a bunch of other hippies protesting against experimentation on animals and trying to convince every person who can hear him to 'save lives – go vegan'." The boy snorted again.

"Can you remember anything else about Jason? Where he lives, who his parents are?"

"His Mum's a doctor in the vet's surgery near the docks – he hangs out there allot after school, taking care of the animals." The blonde girl said, wrapping the foil sheet tighter around her.

"Can you remember who he was with in the protest?"

"Ummm," the Indian girl said "Maya Wilson, Jeremy Jones, Anna Priestfield, Samantha Kyle, Liddy Hamilton. I can't remember anyone else."

"Right, good," Nathan wrote down the names.

"Wait," said the boy "you're forgetting that girl, you know the weird one. She had that brother that died." Nathan paled before the boy even finished.

"Ah!" the boy snapped his fingers as he remembered "Laura West! That was her. Her brother was Matt West."


	7. Chapter 7: Allies

"Mrs. West," Nathan ordered "I need to talk to your daughter."

"Haven't you ruined this family enough?" she hissed "Leave my daughter alone!"

"Laura was very close to Matt, wasn't she," demanded Nathan "close enough to demand revenge over those who she though killed him, right?"

"Stop shouting at my Mum!" a girly voice screamed. Nathan turned to see the same girl he has seen a few hours before, only her face was bright red with anger.

"You must be Laura," Nathan turned to look her in the face. She was furious. Now was the time to be careful "I know about the fires. I know you caused them." She didn't even bother to hide it, or deny it.

"I am far more powerful than you, or my stupid brother. He went out and got himself killed! I am so much stronger than that!" she glared at the little table by the front door for a second and it burst into flames, then died back down again, revealing a destroyed table. Mrs. West screamed and sobbed, cowering back fearfully.

"Laura, Laura sweetheart, we can get through this," she cried "just don't do anything silly and we can sort this out!"

"No!" she shouted "Ever since I got my Gift, you've been lecturing me over and over again! 'Don't do anything silly, Laura'," she mimed whiningly "'Don't do what your brother did, Laura' – well I'm sick of it! GO TO HELL!" and with that, she looked straight at her mother. With a scream, Mrs. Dean erupted in flames and within seconds she was nothing but blackened bones and ashes on the floor. Nathan kept his face composed – it seems the hunger for power also ran in the family, because Matt had done pretty much the exact same thing.

"I get why you would want revenge," Nathan started, but Laura interrupted.

"Revenge? That's only the half of it. I am not going to live in my brother's death-ridden shadow forever – no way. I'm going to put my name on the map!" she grinned, but Nathan saw a manic glint in her eyes.

"As what? A terrorist?" Nathan snorted.

"You think anyone's gunna say no to me with this power – this _gift_? I could be anything I want – I could be the President of the United States, or the Queen of England!" Nathan choked back a laugh.

"You think this is a gift? This 'gift' killed your brother, and you're heading the same way. And there's one thing I don't understand – almost all the victims of the fire have ended up in comas. There's no way you could have done that – so how did it happen?" Nathan was very conscious of the time. Audrey had only two hours to wake up now – he had wasted too much time moping and crying over her and not enough time _solving_ the _crime_!

"Please," she snorted this time "when have you ever heard of a bad guy working alone? I have allies." She was bragging, and in her showing off, she had disclosed a massive secret. She was not alone.

"Jason Barnes." Gasped Nathan "He's Troubled too." He took one glance at Laura's smug face and knew he was right. He was causing all of this – the comas. They were working together to slowly take over the town, starting with the main points; first the police station, then the school. And Nathan knew what was going to be next.

The Hospital.


	8. Chapter 8: Meeting Her other Half

_just want to add a thank you to everyone who reviewed! The comments are really helpful and keep me writing!_

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><p>Nathan's training kicked in in an instant. In a flash, he had hit Laura in the temple, knocking her out cold. She crumpled to the ground. Nathan picked up his phone and hit the last number he would expect to need.<p>

"Nathan?" Duke's voice was only slightly distorted by the poor connection "What's up?"

"Duke, I've got a break-trough." Nathan spoke quickly "I need a favour."  
>"Why is it always favours with you people? Can't you just want my company?" he whined.<p>

"Duke," snapped Nathan "this could save Audrey's life." Nathan closed his eyes "Please."

"Well, since you said the magic word," Duke replied light-heartedly, but Nathan could tell he had him by the balls.

"I've got a girl here – she's what's been setting the buildings on fire. The bottom of your boat is lead-lined right? Good. Put her in that, and make sure there's nothing she can set on fire there. Being surrounded by water should freak her out anyway."

"What if she comes to half way there?" Duke shot back.

"Then you knock her out again or become a pile of charred bones." Replied Nathan curtly "And Duke? Don't screw this up. If this girl gets free, Audrey is in serious danger – her next target is the Hospital." And then he hung up, leaving the house.

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><p>Nathan opened the door to the vet's surgery.<p>

"Jason Barnes?" he asked the good-looking boy at the counter. The boy looked up and smiled charmingly and Nathan noticed an almost-healed bruise under his eye. He was wearing a green top that said 'Tree Hugger' and a cartoon of a stick man hugging a big apple tree. He so had the right guy.

"Yeah, that's me," he looked at Nathan and animal-less state "do you want to make an appointment? We have a phone number you know."

"I'm not here about a pet," he said in a low voice, leaning over the counter "perhaps you recognise me? I'm Nathan Wuornos, from the Haven Police Department. I've been investigating a series of fire that seem a bit. . . unusual. I know that a certain Miss. Laura West is involved and she is being taken care of. I also know that she had an accomplice who is keeping the victims in life-draining comas." Nathan raised an eyebrow at the suddenly pale boy "Any ideas who it might be?"

"I don't think we should be doing this here," the boy gulped, sweat beading on his forehead.

"You're right; let's go outside." Nathan led the boy outside and into an empty storage room that the surgery owned.

"I have a theory, you know," continued Nathan casually "her partner must have been willing to do anything for her. Maybe he had a crush on her? And he would have to have certain. . . abilities. Healing powers. But those healing powers only applied to animals. When Laura found out this person could do things to a person, not just heal, she leapt on the chance. The boy couldn't say no."

"Argh!" Jason finally screamed, holding his head in his hands "I would have done anything for her! I was willing to kill for her! But. . ."

"But your powers only apply to animals. Though humans are similar to animals, they weren't the same – when you set out to kill those people, just in case the fire didn't get them, it wouldn't work. They just went into comas that slowly drained their life-force instead of the instant kill you had promised Laura. She was angry," Nathan gestured to the bruise under Jason's eye "she lashed out. But you were too valuable to kill, so you got off with just a black eye."

"What do you want?" he yelled in a tortured voice "What do you want from me?" he was crouching down, trembling. Moaning under the guilt of what he had done. Nathan crouched down and put his hand on Jason's shoulder.

"I want you to reverse it," Nathan said softly "I don't want you to take lives – I want you to save them."


	9. Chapter 9: What you Gain from Me

Jason stared down at Audrey. Her vitals had dropped – she was inches away from needing life support – and she had to wear an oxygen mask to breathe. The sympathetic nurse who had called Nathan 'sweetheart' was assigned to watch Audrey at all times for any slight change, but when Nathan came in she left, saying she would "leave them alone for awhile" and pointing out the alarm button on the little side table, just in case.

"I did this?" whispered Jason in horror.

"But you can also reverse it," _30 minutes left, 30 minutes left, 30 minutes left_ "you can do this, Jason." Nathan walked over to Audrey and gripped her hand tightly, feeling her subtle warmth. But the surface of her skin seemed to be colder, more wax-like than human.

"How do you know?" Jason cried, his face creasing into lines of stress; he stayed by the door.

"Because you caused this – you can just as easily take it back. And anyway, you're a healer – it's what you do. Hell, you couldn't even kill someone properly," Nathan, fully aware that Jason needed support right then, but also fully aware of the ticking of the clock above the door, decided humour was the best way to bring a panicked teenager round. It worked; Jason let out a short bark of laughter. It was enough. He walked over to the other side of the bed and held Audrey's other hand in both of his.

"I'm sorry for what I did, by the way," he said, looking Nathan cautiously in the eye "I deserve to be locked away."

"No, you don't," Nathan replied firmly "you deserve forgiveness, and, I'm guessing after what Laura did to you, you deserve therapy. Now save the day, Jason – earn your forgiveness."

Without a word, Jason closed his eyes. Nathan's eyes widened as a golden glow started coming from his hands and took his hands from Audrey's, stepping back as the glow became brighter. Suddenly, Nathan could see the light spreading around Audrey's body, lighting up her organs through her skin as it healed. He saw her heart beat faster and stronger as the light cleansed it. But, best of all, he could see the tiny organs of the baby – it's heart, it's lungs, it's brain. All of the light combined made what looked similar to an ultrasound scan, only with golden light shining through Audrey's skin instead of a picture on a fuzzy monitor. The light got brighter and brighter. Nathan was just about to look away when it suddenly stopped and Jason sagged, falling to his knees in exhaustion.

"Jason!" Nathan yelled, running over to help him up "Are you ok?" he put him on the visitor's seat next to the bed. His face was grey and he had circles under his eyes.

"Yeah," he panted "just tired." He smiled weakly "Apparently it's harder to heal then to cause illnesses. Anyway, I don't think it's me you should be fussing over." He gestured with his chin to Audrey. Nathan turned at the sound of a feeble groan to see Audrey, eyebrows screwed together, pulling the oxygen mask off her face.

"Audrey?" Nathan was at her side in a second, stroking her face and hair, drinking the look of her in "Audrey, are you ok? Oh, god, I thought I'd lost you!" Audrey laughed when Nathan pulled her to him in a tight hug.

"Careful!" she chastised, pulling back with a grin "Not too tight, you'll crush us!" she looked down pointedly and caressed her huge stomach through the think hospital gown. Nathan smiled; he could look at her all day for the rest of his life, as long as she was smiling and happy and they were together.

"Hey Nathan," she grinned even wider "did you miss me?"


	10. Chapter 10: The Nameless Child

Nathan gazed down at his sleeping wife, curled up on the hospital bed. It had been three weeks since Audrey had made her 'miraculous recovery' and the doctors were still baffled by it. But, after staying overnight for observation and a few tests, she was allowed out go home the next day, where everyone proceeded to shower her with gifts, 'get well soon' cards and sweet foods of all sorts – which was rather pointless, as just the smell made Audrey nauseous and they had to throw the treats away.

A small gurgling beside Nathan pulled his gaze from his exhausted wife. A tiny baby was wriggling in a plastic hospital cot, knotted up in a soft, fluffy blanket. By the looks of it, it was on the brink of crying for its mother.

"Shhhhh," Nathan whispered, picking the pink-clad baby up "don't worry, I'm here." At Nathan's touch, the little girl immediately quietened, looking at him with big blue eyes. Nathan hoped they wouldn't change like so many baby's did, that they would stay looking just like Audrey's. Her hair was just as blonde as Audrey's, and was starting to curl already, creating cloud-like wisps from under the little pink cap that Duke had, shockingly, bought as a 'happy birth-day' present, along with a white teddy bear with a pink ribbon round it's neck.

"Hey, handsome," Audrey said sleepily, and Nathan heard the rustle of sheets as she sat up. Nathan turned to her and smiled.

"She looks just like you," Nathan commented, sitting on the side of the bed and leaning back next to Audrey, the baby in between them.

"Nah," she brushed off, stroking her daughter's fluffy hair "she'll be cursed with curls and skin that doesn't take tanning well, but in her face, she's her Daddy." Nathan smiled tenderly down at his family; his beautiful, intelligent wife, the mysterious daughter he already felt like knew back-to-front.

"Thought of any names yet?" Audrey asked quietly, playing with her daughter's fingers happily.

"Yeah, I thought of some." Nathan said, reluctant to continue – he and Audrey had made a pact that if they had a boy, Audrey would name him, but if they had a girl, Nathan would name her.

"Hit me." She challenged.

"Ok – Lily," he suggested.

"No – no flower names." She immediately shot down.

"Violet?" he continued hopefully.

"No – no colour names."

"So I take it 'Rose' is totally out of the question?"

"Double no. I mean come on – does she _look_ like a Rose?" Audrey held the baby up a bit to give Nathan a better look at her once again sleeping face.

"No," he smiled "I suppose not."

"Exactly," she said smugly "what else you got?" a knock at the door made the new parents look up.

"Hey," Jason's soft voice preceded him as he poked his head round the door shyly "thought I'd check in on the family."


	11. Chapter 11: Two New Additions

"Hey Jason," greeted Audrey with a wide smile – I'd filled her in on the whole story "come to see the baby?"

"And you guys," he smiled "I'd only heard about the baby awhile ago – my mum wouldn't tell me the big news until _after_ my shift was over." He rolled his eyes fondly. Nathan had kept true to his promise, not mentioning Jason in the report, and Laura was currently sitting in a fire-proof prison for the next twenty five years – as a result, Jason had become part of the family. Nathan smiled and looked back down at Audrey and his daughter, offering his index finger for her to grip in her sleep.

"So," Jason came over round Audrey's other side "let's see who she looks like most." He studied the baby, looking up occasionally at Nathan or Audrey.

"Great," Audrey sighed "we've been arguing about it for hours. We need on outside opinion, and the Chief and Duke were biased. They both said different things." Audrey rolled her eyes "Chief said she looked like me, Duke she said looked suspiciously like _him_." She laughed louder and Nathan grunted. He still wasn't happy about that.

"No, she definitely looks like Nathan," Jason confirmed decidedly "she has your eyes, Audrey, and your hair, but in her face she's her father's daughter." Nathan grinned at that – he never thought he'd hear those words spoken about him "Thought up any names yet?"

"No we were just deciding when you arrived," Nathan said "we have a no for all flower or colour names."

"Hmmm," Jason thought "what about Jessica? I always thought it was a nice name and it has loads of nicknames."

"Jessica," mused Audrey, then looked up at Nathan hopefully "I like it."

"So do I," he smiled "as long as we can have Catherine as a middle name."

"Jessica Catherine Wuornos." Repeated Audrey "Perfect."

"Do you know whether Jessica has Nathan's idiopathic neuropathy?" asked Jason gently, not wanting to burst the bubble but still wanting to know.

"The Doctor says it's possible," Audrey replied as Nathan didn't seem up for it – it killed him that he could have passed his curse onto his daughter, and she might not be able to find that one person she can feel "but so far we don't know. She's responded to our touches, but it's too early to tell." She lay her hand over her husband's comfortingly and Nathan looked up and smiled tightly at her.

"Well, I should go," Jason stood up "gotta get home, but I'll visit you next week and see how baby Jessica's grown. Hope you don't mind, but Mum's desperate for some photos," he leaned close to Audrey so he could get a better shot at Jessica's face, holding a small camera up and shooting, then going to the end of the bed and taking another photo of the three of them "bye!" he whispered and dashed out the room with a grin. Audrey yawned.

"Here, give me Jessica; you need to sleep, and I need to get to know Jessica better. Rest, you look exhausted."

"Hey, no, I need to get to know her too!" objected Audrey, but then she yawned again and shuffled uncomfortably in the bed.

"Audrey, you gave birth to her. I don't think you can bond with your child any better than that." Audrey smiled and nodded, passing the baby over without a sound, constantly reminding Nathan to 'support the head'. She then lay down, kicking Nathan off the bed and onto the visitor chair, and was snoring in minutes. That left Nathan alone with his Baby. His Daughter.

His Jessica Catherine Wuornos.

**Just in case anyone is wondering, the second addition to the family is Jason! Thanks for everyone who's stuck with the story from start to beginning and reviewed, i never get sick of having my ego fed or my writing praised! **


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